In Case You Missed It....

 

In defiance of Church teaching on the sanctity of human life, a Jesuit priest confers an honorary doctorate from a Catholic College on Enda Kenny.  I doubt if St Ignatius would be pleased. 

Gosnell And Kenny

 

In the last couple of weeks every time I tried to get down to write a post something popped up and distracted me, so apologies for the silence.  I try not to leave it too long because I see this blog as part of my ministry, as suggested by Pope Benedict.  Now it may not be a very successful ministry, but I try.  

 

But what a couple of weeks!  So much has happened, and is happening.  First Dr Kermit Gosnell was found guilty - it was great news: a triumph, if only minor, for the pro-life cause.  We have a long way to go: there are many other doctors, politicians and abortion rights activists who have yet to stand trial for their part in the mass extermination of the unborn and the destruction of women.  It will take a major shift in society for that to happen, a major conversion in people's hearts and that is difficult. 

 

That said, I was disappointed that some people who described themselves as pro-life were demanding the death penalty for Gosnell - that is not being pro-life!  The late Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago spoke of the "seamless garment" when it came to pro-life issues.  Now I know that has been used by liberals to distract and highlight social justice issues at the cost of the struggle against abortion, but he was right: to be pro-life means we seek to protect life at all stages.  All people have the right to life regardless of what they have done.  We believe in the mercy of God and the possibility of even the most hardened sinner to convert. 

 

The pro-life movement is not about vengeance - it is about saving lives, even the lives if those who kill in the abortion clinic.  Let us never forget that one of the great modern apostles of life was Dr Bernard Nathanson, a man who not only aborted tens of thousands of children, but was instrumental in the campaign to normalise abortion in the US.  As Scripture reminds us, we must never take pleasure in the death of the evil person, but rather we should seek to rejoice at their turning back to God. 

 

Our Taoiseach Enda Kenny is soon to receive  his honorary doctorate at Boston College.  Speaking as a Catholic Irishman and a priest, I am deeply disappointed at the Jesuits's decision to honour this man at a Catholic college.  As with Notre Dame's honoring Barack Obama, this is a betrayal of our Catholic values.  It will also be seen as support for Kenny's aggressive plan to impose abortion on our country.  It is a scandal in many ways, but one of them is that it affirms Mr Kenny's view that you can be a good Catholic/Christian and still support abortion.  He rejects the Pope and orthodox Catholic teaching in many areas and yet he still sees himself as a Catholic in good standing.  In this honour from one of the main Catholic institutions in the US his error is reinforced and an opportunity to help his conversion has been missed.  I also think that those in Boston College who have decided to defy the Church and confer this honour now share some responsibility for Kenny's actions.

 

Cardinal Sean O'Malley has once again shown himself to be a true pastor in the midst of this.  He made the right decision, not only in not going to Boston College for the Commencement, but also in explaining why in a public manner.  In doing this he is simply fulfilling his role as teacher in his diocese.  He has been attacked for doing so, and some journalists have been scathing, among them Niall O'Dowd, founder of the Irish Voice, an Irish-American newspaper.  O'Dowd, a confirmed Democrat and personal friend of the Clintons, said that the Cardinal broke his promise to Boston College. It seems the College did not want to create an issue and so while accepting the Cardinal's decision, wanted him to remain silent.  Well, if the Cardinal had originally agreed to remain silent he was wrong to do so: as a pastor of souls he could not remain silent in face of this scandal.  O'Dowd accuses the Cardinal of embarrassing Enda Kenny.  Well, Kenny seeks to do worse to the unborn children of Ireland. 

 

What O'Dowd seems to be saying is that we do not speak the truth for fear of embarrassing people, or embarrassing his pro-abortion allies anyway.  Well, I think Jesus said and did differently in his ministry - he did not spare the Pharisees when he spoke the truth.  Of course as any Irish person will realise it is quite ironic to accuse the Cardinal of breaking a promise to Enda Kenny - that same Taoiseach has left a trail of broken promises since his election, the most serious being that to the unborn of Ireland when he assured us he would not legislate for abortion if he were elected.  Pro-life people believed him, and in the hindsight we see how foolish we were to do so; we know better now.

 

Silence is one the pro-abortion movement's great tactics.  They hide the reality of abortion from the eyes of the general public; they are silent about the child which they refuse to acknowledge; they demand silence from those who oppose them; they attempt to silence public representatives through fear.  They silence the women who fell for their arguments about "choice" and now suffer psychologically, spiritually and physically from the trauma of abortion - these most "compassionate" abortion providers have no time for the women hurt by abortion.   And when things go wrong in the clinic, which they do at an alarming rate, they cover it up.  The tragedy of the Gosnell case for them was that it broke that silence and so they had to come up with a feeble response and an objectionable accusation - it was the pro-lifers's fault.

 

No, Cardinal O'Malley was right not to remain silent, he was right to expose the fact that Boston College are defying the Church and defying Christ in honouring a man who seeks to destroy human life.   Silent no more; lies no more, but truth.  Time for people to see abortion for what it is.

Abortion: The Done Deal

 

It seems the politicians are closing ranks as the attack on the abortion bill begins.  Government is insisting that this bill will not lead to abortion on demand, or as the Taoiseach said, there is no intention to introduce abortion on demand - note the subtlety there!  Pro-abortion TDs, Clare Daly foremost among them, are condemning the bill because it does not go far enough.  I'm sure that just posturing on their part, this bill opens the door - in a few years Planned Parenthood and Marie Stopes will be fully cranked up and working away to these politicians' delight.

 

I have been reading the legislation and it is appalling.  Included in it is an attack on Catholic hospitals.  While the bill recognises the right to conscientious objection for individuals (for now - I see that part being repealed if too many doctors and nurses opt out), it will not permit institutions to object so Catholic hospitals will be forced under this legislation to carry out abortions.  What this government is doing to our schools, it now seeks to do to our hospitals.  I cannot help but think this is part of Labour's plan to cut Christianity out of Irish life.   Given that bishops sit on the boards of our Catholic hospitals, we await a response.

 

Another deeply distressing development is that when a woman seeks an abortion, there need not be an immediate danger to her life.  I see that as meaning that she turns up, says she will kill herself if she can't have an abortion, and so the panel grants her request. 

 

And as expected, there will be no free vote.  All government TDs will have to go against their conscience and vote for the bill.  Speaking as a pastor of souls, the party whip does not serve as a mitigating circumstance when it comes to sin: the TD will bear full responsibility for his or her vote and will have to answer to God for it. 

 

This bill is not only offensive to life, but it is deeply flawed.  Having looked at it I conclude that no Catholic can support it and remain in good standing in the Church.  We priests will have to get advice on this, but I think that Catholic TDs who vote for this bill (and perhaps Catholic ministers who have already voted on it in cabinet) remove themselves from communion with the Church.   An important issue now is: does the Catholic Church in Ireland have the courage to speak the truth in the face of this legislation?

Gross Distortion

Well, the pro-abortion media were not long in replying to the Catholic Archbishops' response to the government’s plans to legislate for abortion.  In the Irish Independent today, a missile is thrown across the abyss to the Church and the one throwing the weapon is the Taoiseach himself who claims he was threatened over the Cloyne Report.  Is the story true?  To be honest I do not know, but given the Taoiseach’s propensity to skitter around the truth I am afraid I am not inclined to believe him.  I notice he will not give details of the threat – just as he would not give evidence for the accusations he made against the Vatican last year.  So perhaps that is an indication to the veracity of his claims.  Besides he now needs to attack and undermine the Church as she prepares to fight for the lives of the unborn, so that too may effect his credibility.

According to the Taoiseach the introduction of abortion into Ireland will not create a culture of death, but rather a culture of life.  I think Blessed John Paul II is probably spinning in his tomb.   Of course this is not the first time that the Taoiseach has misquoted or failed to understand Papal teaching.  In his attack on Pope Benedict last year he tried to be smart and quoted some of Benedict’s writing thinking it could be used against the Pontiff – he took the quote out of context and revealed his incompetence.  

And he's revealing his incompetence again on his understanding of the culture of life, and indeed in thinking that he is only legislating for limited abortion.  In every country where “limited abortion” was legalised, a more liberal abortion regime, even abortion on demand, resulted.  As Dr Ruth Cullen of the Pro-Life Campaign said a few days ago: “Once it is conceded that some human lives may be directly targeted there is no going back. Inevitably over time the grounds for abortion would be widened.”  The Taoiseach does not seem to get this, or perhaps he does but just won’t admit it.

Reading this article I am inclined to think that perhaps “the red tail wagging the blue dog” may not be entirely true - unless he's skipping over Labour’s threats.   However it is obvious from what he says that Enda Kenny is pro-abortion, and it is also obvious that he intends to force his position on his party, particularly those members of Fine Gael who are pro-life.  He will enforce the party whip and says that the members of the party have a constitutional duty to support his position.  That is a most interesting comment: do the TDs we elect have a constitutional duty to support their leader and his views, or to represent the people of Ireland in parliament?  

It is also obvious that there is no room for conscientious objection; or at least if someone’s conscience disagrees with party policy they are not permitted to object.  This is not constitutional duty, it is tyranny, and Irish governments have shown that they are inclined to such tyranny when it suits them.  The recent imposition of the Civil Partnership Bill without a vote in parliament and its draconian punishments for registrars and wedding services providers who object on grounds of conscience is one such example: a Fianna Fail/Green Party government was responsible for that.   This is ironic given that our Constitution was written in an era of tyrants – when Hitler, Mussolini, Franco and Stalin were enforcing their will on their political minions, and it was designed so as to prevent the rise of such a dictator in Ireland.  Somehow our politicians have managed to get around that.

To suggest that the introduction of abortion into Ireland promotes a culture of life is nonsense.  When we can say that a life is unworthy of life, regardless of the situations, then we have decided to use death as an instrument of social policy to further a particular agenda – that agenda is part of the culture of death.  A culture of life will respect the lives of both mother and child and will do everything in a crisis situation to preserve life – the lives of both mother and child.  A culture of life loves both mother and child and does not concede that the child has to be intentionally killed in order to save the mother.  A child may die in the attempt to save both lives, that is a tragic outcome, one which is being used cynically by the pro-abortion lobby to further its agenda.  The death of the child in those circumstances was not intentional, and that is difference. Enda Kenny in his legislation, and pro-abortion advocates, want to kill the child - it is their intention that the baby dies; not naturally, but by a direct act be it poisoning, dismemberment or other grotesque means.  There are many names for this, but in no way can this be considered part of a culture of life. 

In this struggle, we must all remember that abortion is not a Catholic issue: it is a human issue: it is a flesh and blood issue, literally.  It is not just Catholic babies who die - human beings from all races and countries die in abortion.   The media want to make this struggle one between the government and the Church: it is not - the Church should be just one organisation in that struggle.  Ultimately it is a struggle between the government and the citizens of this Republic.  I think the only way to resolve this issue to allow the citizens have their say, and it is the constitutional duty of the Taoiseach and his government to consult us by means of referendum - a clear and concise referendum. 

Bishop John Buckley of Cork and Ross has issued a response to the government's decision, reiterating Church teaching and respect for human life, as he taught clearly in his recent pastoral letter.

The Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Michael Jackson, has also issued a statement regarding the government's decision: however he supports the decision to legislate for abortion, which is disappointing. 

A Dark Day For Ireland

Today the government of Ireland made the decision to introduce abortion into Ireland - in effect, abortion on demand.   According to its statement it will only permit abortion in cases where the life of a woman is at risk, but that includes suicide and that, as you all know, is the key to opening the door to abortion on demand.  Today is the darkest day in Ireland since we won independence in the 1920s.

Of course I am not surprised: I have said on this blog that the government was going to introduce abortion into Ireland: the Labour party was made it a priority and though Taoiseach Enda Kenny gave an assurance that he would not bring in abortion, but though we expected him to remain true to his promise we suspected he would not.

According to the statement, legislation will be introduced into parliament, debated and then passed: the Taoiseach has said that he will not allow a free vote - so members of parliament have no choice but to vote for it: those who reject will be "excommunicated" from the party.  Such is Irish democracy.  Our TDs have to toe the party line even if it means violating their consciences and, I presume, they expect God to toe their party line too and absolve them of responsibility.  The Minister of Health will also produce regulations to govern abortion in Ireland - these regulations can, in future, be changed by ministerial statute without recourse to legislation.  Ireland is on the brink of a most liberal abortion regime.

The Archbishops of Ireland have issued a strong statement rejecting the government's decision.  It is the strongest statement I have ever seen come from the bishops.  Here is the statement in full:

The four Catholic Archbishops of Ireland: Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh; Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin; Archbishop Dermot Clifford, Archbishop of Cashel & Emly; and Archbishop Michael Neary, Archbishop of Tuam, have issued the following response to the decision today by the Government to legislate for abortion:

Today’s decision by the Irish Government to legislate for abortion should be of the utmost concern to all.

If what is being proposed were to become law, the careful balance between the equal right to life of a mother and her unborn child in current law and medical practice in Ireland would be fundamentally changed. It would pave the way for the direct and intentional killing of unborn children. This can never be morally justified in any circumstances.

The decision of the Supreme Court in the ‘X’ case unilaterally overturned the clear pro-life intention of the people of Ireland as expressed in Article 40.3.3 of our Constitution. To legislate on the basis of such a flawed judgement would be both tragic and unnecessary.

The dignity of the human person and the common good of humanity depend on our respect for the right to life of every person from the moment of conception to natural death. The right to life is the most fundamental of all rights. It is the very basis for every other right we enjoy as persons.

The lives of untold numbers of unborn children in this State now depend on the choices that will be made by our public representatives. The unavoidable choice that now faces all our public representatives is: will I chose to defend and vindicate the equal right to life of a mother and the child in her womb in all circumstances, or will I chose to licence the direct and intentional killing of the innocent baby in the womb?

Moreover, on a decision of such fundamental moral importance every public representative is entitled to complete respect for the freedom of conscience. No one has the right to force or coerce someone to act against their conscience. Respect for this right is the very foundation of a free, civilised and democratic society.

All involved, especially public representatives, must consider the profound moral questions that arise in responding to today’s announcement by the Government. We encourage all to pray that our public representatives will be given the wisdom and courage to do what is right.

The Archbishops are to be congratulated for their strong stance, and they must be supported: if you get a minute drop each of them a letter of support and keep them in your prayers.

It is now time for all who believe in life to stand together and try to lobby TDs and get them to stand for the lives of the unborn.  Complacency has no place now: as Caroline Simons of the Pro Life Campaign said today, we must fight every element of this legislation.  The lives of innocent Irish children are now at risk. 

I have to say I am sick to my stomach with this government.   Taoiseach Enda Kenny stood up in the Dail and condemned the Catholic Church and the Pope for the failure to protect children, and then they closed the Irish Embassy to the Vatican.  Then they push a dodgy referendum on "childrens' rights" telling us that children needed to have a stronger voice.  But now they decide to sanction the destruction of innocent children by the introduction of abortion.  This is nothing short of hypocrisy; cynical hypocrisy. 

But, time to push up the sleeves.  Time to rally the troops.  As the government seeks to push ahead, we cannot stand idly by.

Feast Of The Shrine Of Life

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Loreto.  Loreto, as many of you know, is the Sanctuary of the ancient House of Our Lady, translated in the 13th century from Nazareth.  The manner of the translation has been a subject of debate for centuries.  It was originally thought that angels translated the house over the course of a couple of years, the house resting in various places until it found its final resting place on a road on the "hill of laurels" near Ancona.  Archaeological research then suggested that the house was actually dismantled and brought to Italy, eventually being rebuilt on the hill. 

However the enigma continues as archaeological digs around the house have raised more questions: there are no foundations, one corner of the house is hanging over a ditch and one of the walls is on top of a squashed bush.  If the house was built on the road surely the builders would have laid some sort of foundation, and they would not have been able to build it with one corner hanging over a ditch, over thin air, and the squashed bush just boggles the mind.

Anyway, translation aside, the house is the house of Nazareth: the place where Our Lady grew up and where the Annunciation took place.  It is also venerated as the House of the Holy Family, where Jesus grew up.   It is an important shrine, and one with tremendous significance for us as the first "church of the Incarnation" where we are led to deeper reflection on the Son of God's becoming Man for the sake of our redemption.  As the place where "the word was made flesh", it is a truly pro-life shrine where God was conceived as a child in the womb of the Virgin Mary.

News.  Bishop John Buckley of Cork and Ross has issued a pastoral letter on abortion. 

In his weekly column in The Irish Catholic, David Quinn has some sobering things to say on the abortion issue.  According to David, Enda Kenny will not keep his pro-life promise, not unless there is a grassroots revolt within the ranks of Fine Gael.  I am inclined to agree with him.  So far the Taoiseach has broken many of his pre-election promises, and I think with the Labour party applying pressure he will fold on this issue too unless he sees his backbenchers on the rampage and the unity of the party is seriously threatened.  Keeping the coalition partners happy is one thing, but the disintegration of the party is another - so too is his leadership.  If a majority of Fine Gael backbenchers revolt Kenny's days may well be numbered, as, perhaps, are those of his Fine Gael ministers.   The question is: will the Fine Gael backbenchers revolt?  Will the grassroots Fine Gael members around the country, most of whom are pro-life, revolt and turn on Kenny?  Perhaps the future of Ireland now depends on this.   Certainly silence will usher abortion into Ireland.   If I may turn the adage around: when good men and women remain silent, innocent children die.

Of course we have to be realistic and see that if Kenny turns and becomes pro-life to save the party, will Labour concede for the sake of the coalition?  Will its thirst for power overcome its evangelical campaign for abortion?  Or will the government fall?  I have no doubt that Kenny will be told by Gilmore that Labour will pull out of government if he does not play ball.   It may well be a game of chicken to see who turns first. With the last budget, the harshest one yet, Labour is not in the good books with many citizens and if there is a General Election they may well lose seats: that might be a consideration if Kenny is forced by backbenchers to stand his ground.  Of course a General Election may well yield a hung Dail.  It is all up in the air.

Time to pray!  And fast!  We need to turn human hearts and make backbenchers courageous.  Some say courage and politics are uneasy bedfellows.  I would not be so dismissive - we have had some marvellous politicians who were courageous, virtuous and saintly.  St Thomas More is one, and is now their patron, but also the late Aldo Moro, friend of Paul VI and murdered in 1978: a cause has just been opened for Moro.  So let us seek their intercession in these difficult times.  Meanwhile get ready for action.  We may need to take the streets on a regular basis in the coming months to convince our TDs that we the people are, ultimately, in charge, and we do not want abortion in Ireland.

Bishops's Letter, Minister's Diktat, And A Twiddling Taoiseach

Enda and his mobile phone

What a week!  It seems that time is flying and more and more things are popping out of the woodwork to be dealt with.  Hence the spaces between posts - not that I have nothing to say - you should all know me by now, I tend to have too much to say at times.  I grab a few moments.....

Since my last post a few things of note have happened.  First of all the Bishops have released their statement for the Day for Life in Ireland which falls this year on the 7th October, feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (or as a friend pointed out this morning - the anniversary of Lepanto).   I have tried to find the statement online, but I do not think it is up yet - I trawled through the Bishop's Conference website and found nothing - it's not a great website and it can be difficult to find things on it, so maybe I missed it.

Anyway, the statement is good: it is clear and states quite catagorically that abortion is wrong, never necessary to save the life of a woman and that the child conceived is a human being worthy of the right to life.  There is a wonderful sentence in it worth noting: "From that moment [fertilisation], each of us did not grow and develop into a human being, but grew and developed as a human being" (emphasis in the text).  That is a marvellous way of stating the facts and undermine the argument proposed by those who promote and defend abortion that the "embryo" or "foetus" is not a human being. 

I am always amazed that in this era when science and medicine are so advanced, there are people out there who claim the embryo is not human, but becomes human (it seems) when the woman assents to the pregnancy.  Talk about hocus pocus and medieval ideas! The pro-abortion lobby are positively backward when it comes to scientific facts and then they have the gall to accuse those who respect human life as being stuck in the past and not as progressive as them.  Poor deluded creatures, their blindness has made fools of them all. 

The Bishops also point out that the government does not have to legislate for abortion to comply with the ruling of the European Court - someone should tell the bright sparks in the government because all we hear out of them is that we may have no choice.  Personally I believe they know, but well, politicians tend be selective when it comes to truth, and on this issue, even though it will cost innocent human lives, they'll fiddle the same old tune. 

Abortion, the bishops point out, is not a solution to a difficult problem, but the  delberate taking of human life and it can never be a genuinely humane or compassionate solution.  It is an evil that brings more evil, destroying not just the life of the baby who is killed, but the woman who has the abortion and society in general which becomes less humane and compassionate as it gets used to the killing of the innocent.  As the bishops correctly point out, as we listen to all the hard cases, it has proved by international experience that once abortion has been legalised, even if only for very restricted cases, it quickly becomes more widespread than was first intended (although to be honest, many of those arguing for abortion intend to have abortion on demand - their talk of restrictions is nothing more than a Trojan horse - as experience teaches us).

Meanwhile the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, is berating RTE for its unbiased coverage of the Children's Rights Referendum.  Now to be honest I never thought RTE could ever be accused of unbaised reporting, but if they are finally getting their act together, they should be supported. The issue is, once again, the McKenna judgement whereby both sides in a referendum campaign must be given equal time to explain their position: the government doesn't like this.

Meanwhile (you'll love this), after another minister in the same government told the Catholic Church to keep its nose out of the forthcoming abortion debate, Minister Noonan has told the Churches that he expects them to issue statements very soon supporting the government position on the Children's Rights Referendum.  This is an interesting development - a government minister telling the Christian Churches what positions they should take on certain issues: is this a diktat?  What about separation of Church and state?  This crowd just get worse. 

And meanwhile, our Prime Minister, Enda Kenny, on a visit to the Pope with other representatives of the European Political Group of which his party is a member, was twiddling away on his mobile phone during the Pope's speech.  Lord knows what people think about Ireland when they see our political representatives behave in such a childish way.  But really, is this the best we Irish can get to run our country?  Thanks their actions against the Pope and the Vatican, this government has already brought much criticism of Ireland from foreign diplomats and governments - when will they stop showing us up in public with their adolescent rebellion against Catholicism?

Not sure if you saw this, if not, please read it - John Water's excellent article on the Children's Rights Referendum.  As always, Waters sheds light on issues usually ignored in Irish Society today. That man deserves a knighthood!  We must drop a few hints with the bishops to put in a word with the Holy Father.

The Taoiseach Doth Protest!

An update on what is happening with regard to the Irish government's decision to close the embassy to the Holy See.   People are reacting negatively to the decision, even those who would not be friends of the Church - they are realists, they know the value of a diplomatic presence in the Vatican, something that has not impressed itself on members of the current administration. 

However the government is not taking it lying down.  The Taoiseach has launched a critical attack on those who are claiming that the closure is political and not economic.  The deputy leader of the main opposition party, Eamon O'Cuiv, grandson of one of the founding fathers of the Irish state, has challenged the decision  and the Taoiseach has taken offence.  He has also dismissed the Cardinal's response saying in round about terms that this is a state issue, so it doesn't concern him.    

Well, I'm afraid, Mr Kenny can object all he likes, but I for one do not believe him when he says the closure has nothing to do with his administration's feud with the Holy See, and I am not alone: many people, many Irish Catholics do not believe him.    I remain to be convinced; I am open, but so far I see nothing to change my mind. 

Indeed, reading Fr Gabriel Burke's blog, there are couple of excellent posts in which you get some good insights into needless government expenditure.  Fr Burke reminds me that Kenny is the first Irish Taoiseach to have an official residence paid for by us poor fool taxpayers.  That is an extravagance we can do without!  A friend of mine went online and spent some time doing research on Irish embassies and consulates.  She concluded, correctly in my view, that there is plenty of room for economising without closing any embassies.  So I am afraid the facts offer a different explanation than that offered by Enda Kenny.

Related to this Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith has an excellent article in the Catholic Herald online.

They Just Don't Get It

How will the Taoiseach and government respond to the Vatican's report?   Well if the newspapers are any indication, there will be no attempt to pull back on the unfounded allegations thrown at the Vatican.  The Irish Times has an article exploring this.  It seems the media, finally getting over the shock has found its mantra: "the Vatican just don't get this".  The Times's editorial is trying to give the impression of being balanced in its reflection, but fails - as expected.

I think this will be the government's response at the end of the day.  They are shocked, I think, at the Holy See's refusal to take the attack lying down.  Irish politicians and the media have got used to bashing the Church and getting away with it.  Whenever they attack the Church in Ireland, for the most part, Irish Church representatives have been silent and even fearful.  When politicians and media mention child abuse, which they tend to do most of the time when dealing with Church issues, the Church here tends to draw back.  Kenny expected this to happen, but the Holy See was not going to play that game: the truth is on their side and they were going to get the truth out.  As it is becoming very obvious ,as opinions leak out from members of the government, if I may quote Jack Nicholson, they can't handle the truth.  So all we will probably get is the usual liberal mantra, wheeled out when there is no defence: "The Vatican just doesn't get this!"

How ironic, if ever there was a mantra to describe the media and political elite in this country it has to be that very phrase.   What do they not get?  Well first of all they don't get the fact that child abuse in an Irish problem and the incidences of child abuse outside the Church is far greater, as Caroline over at the St Genesius blog points out. 

Why do they not get this?  Because they know that to look at abuse in Irish society will open a can of worms and expose many people, including, no doubt they fear, many of their nearest and dearest.  There is already a cover up of child abuse and protection of abusers in Irish society: we know all too well of the media's attempts to protect certain personalities.  Ironic really, for all the talk of mandatory reporting, I wonder how many of the movers and shakers in Ireland's elite really want it?  It might just put them in a difficult position.

They also do not get that the Vatican is not to blame for child abuse in Ireland. They do not get that Enda Kenny's defamatory speech was wrong, stupid and ill-judged.  They do not get that they are isolating Ireland diplomatically not only from the Holy See, but from other countries that can see the reality of the situation. 

Personally I do not believe the government will take this report on the chin - they will not apologise, as they should.  Enda Kenny will not withdraw his remarks - he sees himself as the great hero of Ireland because he has managed to convince some people in Ireland that what he has said is the truth.  He has dug a hole for himself and he will keep digging, and his party colleagues and coalition partners will be there to lend a hand.  I am sure that many in Fine Gael, and perhaps even Labour, realise that they have gone too far, but by gum they cannot back down: can't let the Catholic Church win this one! 

Archbishop Martin has now challenged the Taoiseach to give full details of the incidents of the Vatican, we must come right in behind him and demand an explanation.  We must not allow Kenny to wriggle out of this. Speaking with many people yesterday at the day's retreat, there are many out there who are deeply ashamed of the Taoiseach. 

UPDATE: On the Pat Kenny radio show Labour's Pat Rabbitte has called the Vatican's response as "pettifogging detail". 

Patsy McGarry of The Irish Times on Pat Kenny show is rehashing old news - well done Patsy, ignore the report, just keep banging on with the old, worn out arguments which have already been answered time and time again.  He's defending Irish bishops and saying Rome stopped them from dealing with the issue effectively.  They just do not get it.  As far as I can see, it seems the Irish media are creating a fog to distract from the Vatican's devastating response.  Surprise, surprise - journalistic standards my eye! 

Oh no! Gina Menzies is on now!  She is defending the government's plan to force priests to break the seal.  She says the Seal is not inviolable because it only came into force in 1215. And this lady calls herself a theologian! 

Be Prepared!

Even though I am away on holiday, news from Ireland is coming through at a quick pace and I am starting to wonder whether I will get away psychologically for even a few hours.  Yesterday's astonishing attack by the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, has come as somewhat of a shock and I am afraid Kenny has created a serious problem with regard to relations with the Holy See.  I have been asked to comment.  A few brief thoughts.

First of all we need to understand that the letter from the Vatican to the Irish Nuncio and Irish bishops, which the Murphy and Cloyne Reports refer to and which Kenny and the media have picked up, has been misinterpreted.  Judge Murphy, who wrote the reports, has misrepresented what that letter said - I will not judge whether that was by mistake or on purpose, I do not know what is going on in Judge Murphy's heart - I leave her to the judgement of God who can separate truth from lies.  See Fr Lombardi's statement on this letter confirming this.

Secondly, Enda Kenny is no statesman, so he cannot be expected to respond in a statesmanlike way to any political difficulties: his intemperate words against another sovereign State reveal that. Interestingly he has never used the same language when speaking of China, one of the most oppressive and abusive regimes in history.

Thirdly, Kenny as a local Irish politician, is using this situation to save his political career.  Following his being "found out" in the Roscommon Hospital Affair, he needed something to distract. For those of you not familiar with the Roscommon Hospital Affair - in brief.   During the last election campaign Kenny gave an assurance to the people of Roscommon that their Hospital services would not be cut.  When he won the election, gaining two members of parliament from Roscommon, his government abolished the A&E department of the hospital in question.  The leader of the opposition, in open session of parliament, reminded him of the promise he made to the people of Roscommon, but Kenny, in our parliament, denied he ever made such assurances and called the leader of the opposition "pathetic".  Thanks to a national newspaper a recording of Kenny's promise to the people of Roscommon popped up and lo and behold, contrary to what he said in open session in the parliament, he did give the assurance.   It seems the leader of the opposition is not pathetic at all - not on this issue.   The English language has many words to describe what Kenny did to the people of Roscommon, and then what he did in the chamber of our national parliament - I'll let you choose the one that fits.

Kenny is picking up on an attitude which has existed in the Church in Ireland for a long time.  In reality many Irish Catholics do not really see themselves as members of a universal Church.  Like everything else in Ireland, and most particularly politics, everything is local.   Our political system operates on the level of local issues - how things affect ME.  During election campaigns it is not national/international policies which matter, it is who can get us what we want that gets elected.  This system is in many countries, the problem in Ireland is that it mitigates against a universal outlook.  The Church in Ireland is, for the most part, the parish - not the parish as one in a union, but the parish on its own.  Part of this is thanks to local sporting interests.  Parochial rivalries on the sports field reflect, even fuel a rivalry in other things and so basic Church unity is not high on the agenda.  Even within parishes there is a fragmentation. If a parish, for example, has more than one church - a parish church and chapels of ease, those living in the area of a chapel of ease consider themselves a parish onto themselves.  In some cases parishes are completely split and bitter rivalries exist - think of the Italian Republics of the Middle Ages minus the unifying efforts of the Papacy/Holy Roman Empire.

All of this really makes the Church in Ireland ready for formal schism and Kenny in his attack yesterday is fuelling that.  As he attacks the Pope and the "Vatican", he tries to smoose the local priests and congregations - he wants to drive a wedge between Irish Catholics and their Church, a wedge, to be honest, that doesn't have too far to go.  People have often said that a schism is on the cards in Ireland, and I tend to agree.  In fact I believe it is already there, it just has not been recognised officially.  Many Catholics in Ireland despise Rome - I have seen it frequently among the Church elite here in Ireland, even among bishops and priests. 

So how do we respond to Kenny's ridiculous outburst?  Well, we'll leave it to the Vatican to respond.  What we do need to do is to start getting our act together and seek to tighten our relationship with the Holy See. If schism comes and a "national church" emerges (Irish Catholic Church), and I think that is a real possibility, we need to start establishing boundaries which will reveal in no uncertain terms that we are Catholics in full communion with the See of Rome: we follow Peter and his successors.  If a national church emerges do not be surprised to see bishops, priests and religious and many laity forming it and labouring under the lie that they are the true Catholic Church in Ireland.   The true faithful may even suffer, so be ready for martyrdom - not in the usual manner, but there are more invidious modern forms.  Let's hope it doesn't come to that.  but as the Boy Scouts/Girl Guides taught us: Be Prepared!